The Nursing Secretariat provides strategic advice on health, the health care system and public policy issues from a nursing perspective. Created in December 1999, the Secretariat is a division of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care that supports and monitors the implementation of the Nursing Strategy for Ontario. It informs the government and external stakeholders on the status of the implementation of the Nursing Task Force (NTF) recommendations, and advises on directions, activities, and strategies that impact nursing. It provides policy and administrative support to the Joint Provincial Nursing Committee (JPNC) and its working groups. It develops and implements recruitment and retention initiatives for the profession of nursing in Ontario.